Welcome to Uranus! Isn't Uranus beautiful?!?! OK, enough jokes! Uranus is a legitimate planet that deserves a bit of respect. (snicker, snicker.... we cannot help it. It is Uranus, after all!!!) Uranus is a big planet that has no problems sticking up for itself. As a matter of fact, Uranus is the third largest planet (radius), and it is the fourth "massive" planet in the solar system. Although Uranus is easily seen with the naked eye, the first astronomers felt that Uranus was too dim and slow to be considered one of the "elite"~ a planet. Slow and steady won the race, though. Now, it is held to the highest esteem, in spite of its name.Uranus is not much different in composition than Neptune and is considered one of the four gas giants. However, it is also considered one of the ice giants because it contains quite a bit of ice particles. It has the coldest atmosphere in the solar system, and it has rings like Saturn which are also made up of ice particles. There are cloud layers made up of frozen water and methane, as well. Is all this water and ice what gives Uranus its blue color? Although blue is a favorite color of mine, I am thinking that -224 degrees Celsius is a wee bit too chilly to maintain a steady stream of visitors. We are very nearly out of planets to explore, so stay seated and we will be on our way!
Distance from the sun: About 2,870,000,000 km (about 1,800,000,000 miles). Distance from Earth: About 2,570,000,000 km (about 1,600,000,000 miles). That is like traveling around Earth about 64,237 times. Planetary Make-up: It is mostly made up of frozen water, methane and ammonia. However, it also contains hydrogen and helium. Moons: There are 27 known moons, but there may be more. Of these, only five of these are large. Names of the Moons: Since there are 27 moons, here is the list of the five big moons: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. All 27 moons were named after Shakespearean and "Pope-an" characters. How the planet got its name: Although you may think that Uranus got its name as a joke to make elementary students around the world laugh, it is actually the Greek god of the heavens (yeah, go figure). However, its original name was Georgium Sidus (by Herschel) in honor of King George III.
Uranus is a big planet that has no problems sticking up for itself. As a matter of fact, Uranus is the third largest planet (radius), and it is the fourth "massive" planet in the solar system. Although Uranus is easily seen with the naked eye, the first astronomers felt that Uranus was too dim and slow to be considered one of the "elite"~ a planet. Slow and steady won the race, though. Now, it is held to the highest esteem, in spite of its name.Uranus is not much different in composition than Neptune and is considered one of the four gas giants. However, it is also considered one of the ice giants because it contains quite a bit of ice particles. It has the coldest atmosphere in the solar system, and it has rings like Saturn which are also made up of ice particles. There are cloud layers made up of frozen water and methane, as well. Is all this water and ice what gives Uranus its blue color? Although blue is a favorite color of mine, I am thinking that -224 degrees Celsius is a wee bit too chilly to maintain a steady stream of visitors. We are very nearly out of planets to explore, so stay seated and we will be on our way!
Distance from the sun: About 2,870,000,000 km (about 1,800,000,000 miles).
Distance from Earth: About 2,570,000,000 km (about 1,600,000,000 miles). That is like traveling around Earth about 64,237 times.
Planetary Make-up: It is mostly made up of frozen water, methane and ammonia. However, it also contains hydrogen and helium.
Moons: There are 27 known moons, but there may be more. Of these, only five of these are large.
Names of the Moons: Since there are 27 moons, here is the list of the five big moons: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. All 27 moons were named after Shakespearean and "Pope-an" characters.
How the planet got its name: Although you may think that Uranus got its name as a joke to make elementary students around the world laugh, it is actually the Greek god of the heavens (yeah, go figure). However, its original name was Georgium Sidus (by Herschel) in honor of King George III.